Taxi Driver Online

Lincolnshire MP defends £1,000 taxi expenses

COUNTY MP Sir Peter Tapsell has defended spending more than £1,000 of taxpayers' money on taxi rides between Grantham station and his constituency home in the first nine months since the General Election.

As previously reported, the Conservative MP for Louth and Horncastle has spent £1,350 on 27 taxi rides since being re-elected as the area's MP in May last year. The details were revealed as part of the latest tranche of expenses claims published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa).

The documents showed that the Tory had claimed for 27 taxi journeys between his constituency home in Roughton and Grantham station costing the taxpayer £50 each. The claims were made between May and November last year.

But Sir Peter has defended the claim and insists that a taxi is the only way he can get back to his constituency home. The MP, who is the longest serving MP in the House of Commons, said: "A taxi is the only way that I can get home from the station on my way back from London where I work from Monday to Thursday before returning home where I carry out my constituency duties.

"I have to come home because my home is in my constituency, but I can't get back unless I take a taxi as there is no bus that services the area I live."

Overall, Sir Peter has claimed £25,144 in expenses between May last year and February this year – although the latest claim featured for the MP on the website is for November.

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IDFIMH

It is about 34 miles.

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Grandad,

Could suggest he get himself a car...trouble is I suppose those folks are always too inebriated to drive....

The cost of parking a car at grantham station all week would cost a hell of a lot more than the taxi fare. Also by the time he has done a full day in parlliament and travelled back to grantham on the train he may be to tired to drive safely. Maybe his wife could drive to the station and pick him up, but no doubt that would incur another expenses claim that would also be more than the £50 he can already claim.

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Grandad,